Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood has been on fire in the Premier League this season, and the New Zealander doesn't look like slowing down anytime soon.
Having already hit 12 Premier League goals in 2024/25, Wood is sixth in the Golden Boot race and comfortably on course to break his best goalscoring season in the top flight. His record currently stands at 14, achieved with Nottingham Forest in 2023/24 and Burnley in 2019/20.
Things have clearly clicked while working under Nuno Espirito Santo, with the Portuguese boss helping to bring the best out of the 33-year-old. He highlights the confidence the manager places in him has certainly helped, with regular starts also contributing to his fine form.
Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood still has high targets this season
"It’s tough to put it down to one thing," Wood exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "It’s mostly been down to playing week in, week out, and the belief that the manager instils in me.
"It’s nice being able to play under a manager like Nuno: having a manager that backs you gives you big belief. We were very solid for the first 10 games of this season and did extremely well as a team, which was great – we started off fantastically. It’s nice that I’ve done well, too, but there’s a lot more that I would like to achieve."
With Wood in top form, Nottingham Forest find themselves surprisingly in the Champions League spots after the halfway point in the season. Victory against Liverpool on Tuesday night at the City Ground could even set them up for a title challenge, drawing them to within three points of the Reds.
Such strong performances hasn't surprised the players at Nottingham Forest, however, with the squad confident they would be a lot more competitive in 2024/25.
"On paper, our squad’s really good, and I think it was last season as well – we just didn’t bring out the best in ourselves, as we were fighting against relegation," Wood explains.
"It’s always tough down the bottom, trying to find a result, whereas we started off very well this season and I believe that led to confidence."
While a title challenge still seems a long way off, there's certainly a strong possibility that Forest will be playing Champions League football next term - especially if the Premier League earns an additional spot in the competition. Wood has previously played in Europe twice in the past - in the Europa League for Birmingham and Burnley - but never Europe's premier competition.
